Kokopelli design painted in 2011 by Bill Savarese.

Artist-in-Residence Dawn Roe Exhibits at Lee Wagener Art Gallery

Bill Savarese Selected for VisualEYES Mural at Port Everglades

"After art school and six years of working in animated film in Denmark, I did a 25-foot by 124-foot mural in 1989, and I've been obsessed with doing large-scale artworks ever since," says local artist Bill Savarese, commissioned by Broward100 to design a mural for Port Everglades.

The artwork will be part of Broward County's 100th anniversary celebrations, Broward 100 Celebrating the Art of Community. In the VisualEYES component, nine mural artists have been commissioned for each of the County's nine districts, along with one for Port Everglades. The project aims to build new social bonds by engaging artists, galleries and local organizations."The port has shared in this excitement and is keen on the creative elements in Savarese's work, in his unique style," says Broward Cultural Division Public Art & Design Administrator Leslie Fordham. "We all aim to create a more welcoming space for travelers and move away from the industrial vibe that usually accompanies most port settings. We want to do something different."

Allied Artist Peter Symons Nominated for Two Awards in 2014

In 2014, Broward County Allied Artist Peter Symons was nominated for the Knight Art Challenge Award and the People's Choice Award for his work with partner Leah Brown on the FATVillage Projects Contemporary Art Space, the main feature of the FATVillage ArtWalks in Fort Lauderdale. Symons is working on the New Broward County Courthouse project headed by Glavovic Studio Inc. with public artist Margi Nothard. The project is estimated to be constructed by 2017 and is a functionally-integrated artwork for the courthouse and an integral part of the county's public art and design. The project will be an artistic floor treatment for the 200-square-foot exterior breezeway and will feature LED lighting and possible sculptural elements.

The Broward Cultural Division's Duane Hanson Allied Artist Fellowship program was created with the goal of exposing artists to the technical and administrative skills needed to effectively compete in the field of public art. Young artists are given the opportunity to work with experienced public artists throughout the duration of a project. When asked why he applied, Symons said, "I have not heard of any other program like this. It is very unique and a great window into a process."

Pelican Path is a 4-foot by 40-foot ceramic mural that depicts the "pelican's path," that is, the ripples that are generated when the webbed feet of a pelican slap the water as it takes flight.

This mural will hang on the wall leading passengers from the ticketing portion of the terminal to the waiting area. Suspended in front of the mural will be a silhouette of a pelican that will appear to be emerging and taking flight from the mural, which will be fabricated of polished aluminum. The artwork engages passengers as they are about to embark on their journey across the sea. It draws a connection to what they will see from their vantage point on the ship - the sea, the shore, and the sky. It assists with wayfinding by providing visual cues to the passengers to lead them from the ticketing area through the terminal towards the ship and helps to promote tourism by improving the cruise passenger experience.

"My work aims to challenge us to find deeper meaning in our present lives by exploring the paths of those who came before us and our relationship to the natural world," Cortada says.Starfish Shuffle, a series of eight wall-mounted ceramic murals, creates an awareness of the vibrant marine life that abounds in the natural environment just offshore from Broward County's beaches. Located on the walls in the security screening area, each 4-foot by 8-foot mural is composed of 288 uniquely painted tiles; each deeply textured, carved and then hand painted with multiple layers of glazes to achieve a brilliant and fluid effect that is suggestive of the tropical waters that cruise passengers eagerly anticipate on their voyage.

Xavier Cortada's past work has included art installations at the Earth's poles (north and south) to generate awareness about global climate change. In 2007, through the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artist and Writer's Program Fellow, he used the moving ice sheet beneath the South Pole as an instrument to mark time. The art piece will be completed in 150,000 years. In 2008, he planted a green flag at the North Pole to reclaim it for nature and launch a reforestation eco-art effort.

Hiatus Greenway Project Begins

Residents will have another safe area to walk, run, rollerblade and ride their bicycles and horses as another Greenway System project gets underway. The Highway and Bridge Maintenance Division (HBMD) began construction of the Hiatus Greenway, part of Broward County's Greenway Master Plan, earlier this month. This is the third project in the system; the first two were completed last year along the New River Canal and the Cypress Creek Canal.

The Greenway System is a countywide network of safe and clean bicycle and equestrian paths, nature trails and waterways. This connectivity concept provides opportunities for recreation, restoration and enhancement of native vegetation and wildlife habitat, and alternative modes of transportation.

Through the Broward Cultural Division's Public Art & Design Program, artists James Adamson and Steven Badanes, doing business as Jersey Devil Design Build Group, were commissioned to design and install the amenities to connect each neighborhood, from the Everglades to the Atlantic Ocean, to conservation lands, parks and recreation facilities, cultural and historic sites, schools and business areas.

Jersey Devil designed benches with canopies placed approximately every half mile along the east-west corridor of the County creating a network of bike paths. The artists also designed a broad range of amenities such as shelters, shade canopies, seats, trash receptacles, bicycle racks, "splitter islands" and "logo markers" along the trailways. "It was a local collaborative effort, working with designers throughout Broward County on each of the independent elements," says Broward Cultural Division Director Earl Bosworth. "A community effort for a community project."This project has been awarded a Broward County Seal of Sustainability, recognizing good stewardship of the environment. County programs that bear the coveted Seal of Sustainability meet the triple bottom line of sustainability: environment, economy and community.